My Weekend Stay at Courtyard by Marriott Richmond North

My boyfriend and I traveled to the Richmond, Virginia area to celebrate a friend’s nuptials. But before we flew up, we looked around the area to see where to stay.

Finding and booking a hotel

The Courtyard by Marriott Richmond North was the preferred hotel for the wedding party, but because I’m cheap, I decided that we should look around to find other hotels and vacation rentals nearby. I found a rate cheaper than the one advertised for the wedding guests at a nearby hotel, SpringHill Suites Richmond Virginia Center. The two hotels were maybe a mile apart from each other but the SpringHill Suites cost $10 cheaper a night. A quick trip to TripAdvisor showed me that both hotels were pretty comparable so a stay at either one would be pleasant. I booked the SpringHill Suites room through Hotels.com and called it a day…

…until two weeks before the wedding.

Something told me to look up hotels in the area again. The room rates for the Courtyard dropped. I could get us a room at the Courtyard for almost $15 cheaper than the SpringHill Suites andsince it was the preferred hotel, we would be closer to the other guests and the action. There was also a Candlewood Suites nearby that was $70 cheaper than the Courtyard. I immediately canceled the SpringHill Suites room (we had free cancellation up until the night before we were to arrive) and booked the room at the Courtyard. The TripAdvisor reviews made the Candlewood seem noisy since it was closer to the highway. I would have loved to pinch as many pennies as possible but decided the Courtyard was the best bet.

The stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Richmond North

Our flight was early as all get out. We took an Uber to the hotel and arrived well before time for check-in.

The hotel clerk at the front desk graciously gave us a room anyway. Nothing but God. Our room was really clean (the cleaning crew literally just finished our room as we arrived).

We went to our room and I napped for what felt like five hours.

The room could easily sleep four, as there was a cute pull-out loveseat across from the bed. It’d be tight, but if you’re barely in the room it wouldn’t be a big deal. There was also a little coffee/tea area that was over the hidden fridge. The room didn’t have a microwave, but we made do. The entertainment/desk area was adjoined with the armoire that also contained the iron and ironing board.

The bathroom was nice too. I believe we ended up in an accessible bedroom because the shower had a seat and a rail. It was a good, long bathroom as far as hotel bathrooms go.

The hotel was located in the same shopping center space as a Red Robin and a Dollar Tree, both of which came in handy. In the shopping center across the street were more restaurants (chains, mostly — fast food and sit down joints) and a Target. The location was extremely convenient for us as one of the wedding events during the weekend took place in our hotel.

We didn’t physically sit in the cafe/lounge area and eat, but the morning of the wedding, my boyfriend grabbed us breakfast. I believe it was a bit overpriced for what we received, but it did the job.

It was a little bit hard to get an Uber compared to how easy it is in Atlanta suburbs. Most Uber drivers stayed in the city of Richmond. We learned about this app Uzurv that could help with reserving an Uber or Lyft but we mostly just kept the app open 30 minutes out and booked as quickly as possible.

We didn’t have to do anything to check out. The receipt was slid under the door that morning and we headed out with ease. Overall, a great stay. If I ever ventured back to Glen Allen, I’d gladly stay there.